Zombies, The CDC, Earthquakes & Emergency Preparedness

Recently the Center for Disease Control otherwise known as the CDC has released an interesting pamphlet detailing what to do in the event of an out of control epidemic resulting in the “attack” of the zombies. Many of the news organizations, even those in which we place a great deal of trust, treated the information regarding zombies as a joke. They spent several days detailing the evolution of the zombie from the original slow and clumsy to the speedy and dangerous. In fact, you can find a pretty good analysis of what the current version of what a zombie can do in the movie “28 days”. If you want to see a really scary end of the world movie that leaves you unsettled, rent it. The first thing you need to know is that zombies are not only real, but very dangerous to you and your family. But that doesn’t answer the question as to what are zombies and where do they come from?

In a word, the zombie that the CDC refers to is none other than you and your family. If you were to look at it from their perspective a zombie is anyone who is not part of the in-group or in other words, part of the government. From a more personal point of view a zombie is anyone outside of your family, friends or neighbors with whom you have a great deal of trust. Traditionally, zombies can be classified as one of three groups. First, the looter / rapist zombie is the zombie who during a time of disaster leaves the comfort of his home and begins a rampage. They typically zero in on areas where there is no or limited government control. The recent tornados in the state of Louisiana are an example. In some cases the zombies traveled from as far as Florida to find victims to rob and rape.

Then there is the 2^nd example of a zombie, the hungry and cold zombie. The truth is that this is probably the most passive zombie of the bunch. Typically this type of zombie can also be found in places where disaster has struck, but this is not absolute. One example of a hungry zombie out of his normal environment was during the recent handout of applications for energy vouchers in Atlanta Georgia. In this case the zombies rioted in search of victims to punish for the lack of applications. You can find a few good examples of this type of zombie on youtube. Overall, the hungry zombie can be found in shelters or evacuation centers and as long as there is a steady supply of what the zombie requires, (food, water, etc.) there will be no aggressive action on part of the zombies. If by chance you think the zombie phenomenon is limited to a specific class or ethnic group, read the recent articles where a cruise liner lost power and within 24 hours the passengers were on the verge of tearing apart the crew and fellow passengers.

Lastly there is the most vicious and dangerous type of zombie. For those who predict the end of the world or other types of survivalists, this is the type of zombie they fear most. This type of zombie runs in large packs hiding his face from the cameras using bandanas or masks. The political zombie uses the cover of political change to wreck the most damage to the infrastructure around him. He will target those he perceives as having wronged him in the past or for being different. In many cases these zombies will use the pretext of religion to kill those of a different affiliation. What happened in Serbia a few years ago is a perfect example of this. Both sides of the religious spectrum did their best to wipe out the other.

All in all, you can take heart that in the United States, though instances of zombies do occur, it is not a frequent thing and rarely involves disease. You best defense against zombies is to avoid the areas in which they like to congregate. If by chance you cannot, then hole up with friends and family with whom you have a great deal of trust. Regardless, in order to prepare for the zombie invasion, have a plan, food & water as well as a way to defend you and your family.

Enjoy!